MacDonald was there. He had rung this morning, and a nurse had said yes, Christine was there, and the baby was coming. That had been four hour ago. For two hours John had sat by the telephone, afraid to ring the hospital again. Three times he had picked it up, and three times he had put it down again.
He picked it up again, and rang the number. Seven....five.....eight...three...it was no good. He had to see the baby for himself.
He got up, put on his coat, and went downstairs. There was a cold wind outside, blowing from the sea. The sea and the sky were grey and miserable. He went into a shop and bought some flowers. He chose them carefully - bright red and yellow color - and the shopkeeper put paper around them to keep them safe. John took them and walked quicky, nervously, along the windy road by the sea, towards the hospital.
It was raining out at sea. Already the rain was falling on the sandbanks where the seals used to live. Soon it would be falling on the town. John Duncan shivered, and turned his coat cooler up. Then, with his bright flowers in his hand, he walked on, into the winter wind.